Chapter 37
Tuesday arrived after Monday had passed. Since we'd spent a passionate night together until late into the early morning, it would've been nicer if today had been a weekend.
But things can't always line up so perfectly. Students have to go to school on weekdays.
Thus, after getting up in the same bed, washing up together, and even finishing a simple breakfast.
Seo Ahyeon and I were leisurely making our way to school, exchanging small talk.
“Haa, seriously……. Everything's great when I sleep with you, but every time the next day comes around, I feel like my lower back is going to be crushed.”
She reached behind her and lightly patted her pelvis, groaning, and I answered with a light chuckle.
“Stop exaggerating. You're gradually getting used to it.”
“Exaggerating?! This really hurts, you know?”
When Seo Ahyeon charged at me with both eyes blazing, I played along just enough to keep it playful.
‘……Hmm.’
I casually took out my smartphone and checked the screen for a moment from an angle she couldn't see.
Why, hadn't I given Kim Minjun a video the night before as a small revenge and farewell gift?
Naturally, I hadn't expected a pleasant response…….
‘No reply yet.’
Unexpectedly, despite my blatant provocation, Kim Minjun hadn't shown any particular reaction.
The unread indicator had definitely disappeared, though.
Given his personality, I had half expected some fairly vicious words in return.
But Kim Minjun was surprisingly quiet. From my perspective, it was a silence that was not entirely free of disappointment.
If he'd thrown a fit without even realizing his own fault, I had been ready to verbally beat him down with, ‘This asshole walked right into it.’
It had ended more anticlimactically than I'd expected. I clicked my tongue inwardly and turned my head─.
“What are you so focused on?”
“……Whoa, you startled me.”
The moment I turned to the side, I flinched at Seo Ahyeon poking her head out much closer than I remembered.
And because of that, I was slow to react.
Seo Ahyeon had already glanced over even my phone screen. She let out an “Ah.”
“Mmm-mmm……. I expected as much, but I guess there's still no reply? Minjun hasn't changed.”
“……Huh?”
But at what she added afterward, I couldn't help tilting my head slightly.
Judging from her words, Seo Ahyeon had expected no reply to come.
It was completely different from what I had expected. Perhaps noticing the question on my face, Seo Ahyeon gave a wry smile and added an explanation.
“Even if he doesn't look it, that kid is surprisingly timid. Especially around bigger guys like you, Taeyang—he used to get even more intimidated.”
“……? Who's timid?”
It wasn't exactly a sufficient explanation. I asked back, unable to make sense of the peculiar feeling.
Timid? Who? Kim Minjun?
That was another thing I'd never heard before. I'd never once felt that way about him.
‘No, it's not like I've been especially close with him since I was dropped into this world.’
Even so, considering what I'd seen of him from a distance, calling him timid was a bit…….
“Why? Doesn't it suit him?”
“……”
As if she could plainly see what I was thinking, Seo Ahyeon moved even closer with a teasing smile.
She nudged me playfully with her small shoulder as she continued.
“But it's true. Think about it. When you think of Minjun, isn't the image that comes to mind someone who spent the whole year intimidating me, losing his temper, and acting overbearing?”
“……Yeah.”
“But after hearing me say we should break up, and even getting smacked once, he still hasn't said a word. He's just quiet as a mouse.”
“Ah.”
Only after hearing that detailed explanation did I feel as though I understood, however faintly.
Now that she put it that way, the idea that Kim Minjun was ‘timid’ did seem to sink in a little more.
Then again, if he'd been as I imagined him, wouldn't he have gone even more berserk when Seo Ahyeon hit him, saying something like, ‘How dare you hit me?’
But in the end, Seo Ahyeon's phone had remained quiet until today, and he hadn't particularly reacted to the farewell gift(?) I'd sent him either…….
In the end, though she had put it indirectly, that was what Seo Ahyeon meant. Kim Minjun was intimidated by Seo Ahyeon, and intimidated by me as well.
Neither was impossible to understand. Especially the latter.
‘I have lived a bit recklessly.’
Well, it made sense, since I looked like a stereotypical delinquent even on the outside, and my behavior so far hadn't exactly been exemplary.
If Kim Minjun really was timid by nature, it wasn't unreasonable that he found me intimidating.
Of course, even so, who would've thought one of the original male protagonists would be afraid of me?
It gave me a vague, subtle feeling unlike anything I felt when looking at guys like Lee Hyeonseong or Jeong Jaeha.
‘Those guys……. They may dislike me, but they don't exactly seem intimidated by me.’
That was what made Kim Minjun's case feel all the more novel.
Around the time I was scratching my cheek, feeling oddly disgruntled.
Seo Ahyeon gazed steadily at me, a strange glint appearing in her violet eyes.
“……Hey, Han Taeyang.”
“Huh?”
As if Kim Minjun's reaction—which, to her, was already in the past—was honestly of little concern.
As if there were another matter more important to her, she began speaking seriously.
I came out of my thoughts and met her eyes, and Seo Ahyeon immediately got to the point.
“You and me……. About our relationship going forward.”
“……Ah.”
“There’s something I wanted to say about that.”
When I saw Seo Ahyeon's flushed face, which was radiating unmistakable tension, I realized what was happening and hurriedly cut her off.
“Wait, Seo Ahyeon. No, Ahyeon. I want you to let me say it.”
How could I not know what Seo Ahyeon was trying to bring up?
If I failed to notice, I was an idiot; if I pretended not to notice, I was a bastard.
In the former case, I wasn't an idiot, and in the latter, I had no intention of becoming what people called a nasty ‘use-and-dump guy,’ so.
I began choosing my words to make my relationship with Seo Ahyeon clearer and more definite.
It was something I'd been thinking about ever since I meddled in Seo Ahyeon and Kim Minjun's relationship in the first place.
If I'd caused all this, if I'd half-pushed Seo Ahyeon into breaking up with Kim Minjun…….
Then as a man, I had to take responsibility.
Just as I was about to part my lips.
“No, let me say it first.”
“……”
Seo Ahyeon answered unusually firmly, her eyes glowing with a meaningful light.
I had been about to speak immediately, but stopped with my lips parted.
“I know you care about me a lot, Taeyang. Even if that affection started out as sympathy or pity……. It doesn't make the kindness and goodwill you've shown me fake. I'm always grateful.”
Seo Ahyeon continued with an opening that was quite different from what I had expected.
I stopped awkwardly where I stood and merely stared down at Seo Ahyeon as the conversation took an unexpected turn.
And, with a clear smile that made no attempt to hide her deep romantic feelings for me, she added.
“Still, you don't ‘love’ me so deeply that you feel you can't live without me, do you?”
“──.”
As far as I knew, I had never let it show.
I had believed there was no need even to let it show…….
She laid bare that uncomfortable truth without a hint of particular sadness.
No—perhaps I should say she had called me out on it?
‘……Why? No, how.’
For the moment, my breath caught. It felt as though she'd struck me right in the vitals.
Because I hadn't expected it. It had never even occurred to me that she might know.
I parted my lips at Seo Ahyeon's calm smile and gentle gaze, so out of place for the situation, but I couldn't bring myself to answer.
I could neither affirm nor deny it; I could only remain silent.
And before long, guilt toward Seo Ahyeon surged up inside me.
Reluctantly, I touched the corner of my eye and had to avoid Seo Ahyeon's tender gaze.
Her words—her insight—had exposed my true feelings exactly.
Seo Ahyeon really was a girl who could read my thoughts well…….
‘……Tsk.’
I swallowed a groan inwardly and managed my expression so no needless emotion would show on my face.
Even so, I couldn't summon the courage to look Seo Ahyeon straight in the eye.
To be honest, it was true. I definitely had affection for Seo Ahyeon, cared about her, saw her as a woman, and even felt sexual attraction toward her.
It was even more than the vague, shallow affection I had for the heroine of the original work─. It was sincere affection built on the relationships and bonds I, the transmigrated ‘Han Taeyang,’ had formed in this world that had become my new reality.
But if you asked whether it was the deep and desperate ‘love’ Seo Ahyeon felt for me, well.
That was the one thing I couldn't bring myself to answer confidently in the affirmative.
Because I didn't want to lie, after all.
In the end, this was what I truly felt.
I liked the girl standing before me, but my feelings weren't as weighty as hers.
……I hadn't built up feelings that deep yet.
“Seo Ahyeon, I.”
I hadn't looked in a mirror, but my complexion was probably in pretty bad shape at that moment.
It likely wasn't pale enough to be alarming, but it had definitely darkened enough to stand out.
Because I felt guilty. Even if it had been for Seo Ahyeon's sake, I had hidden my true feelings while wanting to start a relationship with her.
‘No, perhaps it was even worse than that.’
Or perhaps it was worse because Seo Ahyeon had seen right through those feelings of mine.
I bit my lip, desperately suppressing the deep sigh that reflexively threatened to escape.
“Hee-hee.”
“……”
?
That was when I heard someone's laughter by my ear, just as I was on the verge of panicking.
It was extremely playful, teasing, and in a way even coquettish.
I raised my head, a stupid question mark appearing over my face.
And then.
“Ahaha, seriously. Why are you making that face? Did you do something wrong? You didn't.”
“……Ahyeon.”
Seo Ahyeon laughed as though she genuinely found the situation hilarious, even wiping tears from the corners of her eyes.
While I sweated in confusion, slow to grasp what was happening, she spoke with a pleased expression.
“It’s not even like I was accusing you of anything. Hmm? Why are you adorably cowering? Did I scold you for not loving me?”
“……”
“That’s not what I wanted to talk about……. Hmm, right. Rather, I wanted to have a more constructive conversation about our relationship.”
Then she clasped her hands behind her back coquettishly, stepped one pace closer, and lifted her chin toward me.
Apparently enjoying my flustered expression immensely, she continued with a sly grin.
“You know I’ve fallen for you, right? Han Taeyang.”
“……”
“Your answer?”
“……I know.”
“Yeah, that's right.”
Seo Ahyeon drew a practically forced answer from me while I was still unable to shake off my confusion.
She nodded with satisfaction.
“That’s enough for now. You seem to see me as a romantic prospect too……. I can wait as long as it takes.”
“……”
“Besides, I’m confident, you know? Even if it takes months, I’m confident I can completely win you over by the end of this year at the latest.”
“So,” she added, stretching out her slender index finger to tap me on the bridge of the nose.
“Don’t feel too pressured. You absolutely don’t have to force yourself to date me right now.”
“……You……”
“Honestly, I’m a girl who had a boyfriend until yesterday. Wanting more than that would be greedy.”
“Haaah-!”
After saying that, Seo Ahyeon stretched luxuriously as though she felt relieved, then stepped back again.
And then.
“Oh, and.”
She gave me a cute one-eyed wink and made one last, utterly confident flirtatious advance.
“I don’t care whether it’s Baek Seol-ah or some other girl I don’t know about yet. If you want, you can fool around as much as you like for a while.”
“What?”
“Because before long……. I’ll make you into someone who can’t live without me. I’ll do it myself.”
So look forward to it, Han Taeyang.
After seducing me with such a lovely expression, Seo Ahyeon gave me a confident eye-smile.
I stared at her for a moment, speechless at those generous, deeply appreciated words.
“……Yeah.”
Before long, I let out a hollow chuckle, somehow proud that she had matured emotionally enough not to need anything more from me.
And I gave her a carefree nod.
“I’ll look forward to it, Seo Ahyeon.”
Even as a certain premonition arose in my mind.
Honestly, it had nothing to do with how hard she tried.
Although my feelings still lacked weight for now, closer to ‘affection’ than ‘love.’
I had a feeling that in the not-too-distant future……. I, too, would come to genuinely like this girl.
With the thought that would have turned Seo Ahyeon's face bright red as a persimmon if she'd heard it, I simply gave her a relaxed smile.
*****
And when the long, poignant journey to school finally came to an end.
In the second-year Class B classroom, with roughly ten minutes left before class began.
“Han Taeyang.”
Approaching my desk with an unconcerned stride, she twisted her snow-white hair around her finger.
Baek Seol-ah spoke as though she wanted the person chatting beside me to hear.
“This weekend……. You haven’t forgotten our date, right? I’ll be looking forward to your escort.”
Her intentions were so transparent.
Baek Seol-ah's one line was positively brimming with amusement.
“Huh?”
And from beside me came the extremely ominous sound of something being crushed with a ‘crunch.’
I pretended not to notice the person grinding the corner of the adjacent desk into powder as cold sweat trickled down my face.
In the end, Seo Ahyeon's terrifying glare, which had been fixed on Baek Seol-ah, turned toward me as well.
……She wore an expression as if she might grab a kitchen knife and plunge it into me at any moment.
I had to swallow dryly at that razor-sharp murderous aura that sent a chill down my spine.
‘Ahyeon, Ahyeon…….’
You said just a moment ago that you could wait as long as it took. That you didn't care whether it was Baek Seol-ah or any other woman?
Had you been lying to me?